SP-LCA Douglas
DC-3CS1C3G
(c/n 7367)
In 1946 LOT received
half a dozen war surplus C-47s which were used on freight duties.
Some;
like SP-LCA seen above,
were left in camouflage for some time.
This rare
image is via the
Wydawnictwo Stratus collection in Poland. An
early C-47-DL (42-5673) it saw service in North
Africa and then went to Russia immediately after the was.
Like most of these LOT
DC-3s it was
sold to Iranian Airlines in the late 1950s, although
they were basically replaced by other DC-3s at
that
time. SP-LCA became EP-AED.
It was later leased in the
Republic of the Congo as 9Q-AED
and
then saw service in Zaire as 9T-PIF. Some reports
have
it as returning to Iranair in 1963, but
that is
doubtful.
Judging by the way these aircraft were used (abused?) in central Africa
during
those times, I doubt that Iranair
would want it
back.